Civil Services Examination Prelims 2023: उत्तर सहित प्रश्न

The Jhelum flows through Wular Lake, and Kanwar Lake (Bihar) is an oxbow of the Gandak. Kolleru lies between the Godavari and Krishna deltas and is fed by streams like Budameru and Tammileru, not directly by the Krishna.

Kamarajar (Ennore) was the first corporatised major port, and Mundra (Adani) is the largest private port. The largest container port is JNPT (Nhava Sheva), not Visakhapatnam.

Mahua and teak are deciduous; jackfruit is evergreen.

India has more arable land than China and a higher share of irrigated area, but China's per-hectare productivity is much higher.

The Rann of Kutch was once a shallow arm of the Arabian Sea; repeated falls in sea level and uplift turned it into an extensive salt marsh.

Ilmenite (FeTiO3) and rutile (TiO2) in beach sands of Kerala, TN and Odisha are the main titanium ores.

The DRC produces roughly 70–75% of the world's cobalt.

The Congo Basin spans Cameroon, CAR, Republic of Congo, DRC, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

Amarkantak is where the Vindhyas meet the Satpuras (Maikal range). Biligirirangan Hills link the Eastern and Western Ghats, and Seshachalam is part of the Eastern Ghats, so none is correct.

The East-West Corridor (NHDP, not GQ) links Silchar and Porbandar. The Trilateral Highway runs from Moreh to Mae Sot, and BCIM links Kolkata with Kunming.

Coal generates most of India's power. Power reactors use natural or low-enriched uranium (about 3–5%); 60%+ is weapons-grade territory.

Marsupials are native to Australia and the Americas, not India. They live in varied habitats (forests, deserts, grasslands) and coexist with predators.

The ISSG is part of IUCN's Species Survival Commission and manages the Global Invasive Species Database.

The Malabar civet is nocturnal and sambar are mostly nocturnal/crepuscular; the lion-tailed macaque is diurnal.

Honeybees use the waggle dance to communicate direction and distance of food sources.

Mushrooms include medicinal (reishi), psychoactive (psilocybin), insecticidal (e.g., Cordyceps-related/entomopathogenic) and bioluminescent species.

Indian palm squirrels nest in trees, not burrows. They cache nuts/seeds in the ground and are omnivorous.

Extremophiles include hyperthermophiles (above 100°C near vents), psychrophiles (below 0°C) and acidophiles (pH below 3).

Orangutans fashion sticks as tools to extract insects and honey from tree holes.

HFCs are used as aerosol propellants, foam-blowing agents, fire suppressants and in lubricants/solvents (besides refrigerants).

Interest distributed by InvITs is taxable for unitholders, while dividends can be exempt, so Statement-I is wrong. The 2021 Finance Act recognised InvITs as borrowers under SARFAESI.

Central banks raised rates in 2022–23 because they believe monetary tightening can curb inflation.

Carbon markets are a key climate tool, but they trade credits mainly between private entities; they do not transfer resources to the State.

Sterilisation offsets the liquidity impact of forex interventions, mainly through OMOs.

Government bonds and stocks are long-term capital market instruments; call money and T-bills belong to the money market.

SFLF groups small farmers to synchronise operations (sowing, harvesting, marketing) to gain economies of scale while retaining ownership.

Nigerseed is among the MSP crops, is grown mainly in kharif, and its oil is used for cooking by tribal communities.

Brand, IP and client lists are intangible; inventory is a tangible asset.

XV FC criteria: income distance, population (2011), area, forest and ecology, demographic performance, and tax and fiscal efforts.

UNOPS S3i focuses on affordable housing, renewable energy and health infrastructure.

Due process requires that laws and their application be fair and reasonable, not merely validly enacted (the Maneka Gandhi approach).

Prisons are a State subject; the Prisons Act, 1894 placed them under provincial control, which is why states frame their own rules.

A constitution's core purpose is to define and limit governmental power (constitutionalism).

The 1st Amendment (1951) added Articles 31A, 31B and the Ninth Schedule, and restrictions to Art. 19, to overcome court rulings (Kameshwar Singh, Romesh Thappar).

Only NCBC is constitutional (Art. 338B, 102nd Amendment). NHRC and NCDRC are statutory, and the Law Commission is executive.

Art. 71(2) keeps prior acts valid; the election cannot be postponed because some assemblies are dissolved (Art. 71(4)); and no time limit is prescribed for assent.

Statement 2 is correct (Art. 109). A Finance Bill containing money bill provisions (Art. 117(1)) cannot be rejected/amended by RS in the same way, and joint sitting is possible but not 'necessary' for Finance Bills.

Community Reserves (WPA Sec 36C) are notified by the State and managed by a Community Reserve Management Committee, not the CWLW. Hunting is prohibited while community use such as NTFP collection and traditional practices continues.

Scheduled Areas are declared by Presidential order (Fifth Schedule, Para 6), ranging from district to village clusters. Annual reports are submitted by the Governor to the President, not by CMs to MHA.

The SC (e.g., Indra Sawhney, M. Nagaraj) tied reservations to administrative efficiency under Art. 335, but Art. 335 does not define 'efficiency of administration'.

Dhanyakataka (Dharanikota/Amaravati) was in Andhra on the Krishna river.

Stupas (burial mounds) are pre-Buddhist in origin, so statement 1 is wrong. They held relics and served as votive/commemorative structures.

Korkai (Pandya), Poompuhar/Kaveripattinam (Chola) and Muchiri/Muziris (Chera) were Sangam-age ports.

Vatakkiruttal was ritual fasting unto death, e.g., by a defeated or dishonoured king (Chera Perunchetralathan).

All four rose as independent powers in the 11th–12th centuries, not the early 8th century.

Hammira-Mahakavya (Nayachandra Suri) and Nitivakyamrita (Somadeva Suri) are correct. Devichandragupta is by Vishakhadatta, and Milinda-panha records the dialogue of Nagasena.

Jainism holds that jiva (soul) exists even in earth, water, fire and air bodies.

Nuniz records that Devaraya I built a dam on the Tungabhadra and an aqueduct to bring water to the city.

Bahadur Shah ceded Diu to the Portuguese (Treaty of Bassein, 1535) for help against Humayun.

The Charter Act of 1833 made the Governor-General of Bengal the Governor-General of India (Lord William Bentinck).

JSY is a centrally sponsored safe-motherhood intervention under NHM that aims to cut maternal and neonatal mortality through institutional deliveries. Sick-infant care is under JSSK, not JSY.

AMB provides iron–folic acid (not calcium) supplementation. It promotes delayed cord clamping, periodic deworming and addressing non-nutritional causes.

Carbon fibre is widely used in aerospace and automotive parts and can be recycled (pyrolysis, solvolysis).

Accelerometers sense sudden deceleration (airbags), free fall (disk protection) and orientation (screen rotation).

Biofilters remove organic waste and use nitrifying bacteria to convert ammonia to nitrate; they do not add phosphorus.

Only pulsars are correctly described. The descriptions of Cepheids (pulsating variable stars) and nebulae (dust/gas clouds) are swapped.

Japan operates QZSS (Quasi-Zenith Satellite System).

The descriptions are reversed: ballistic missiles are rocket-powered in the initial phase, while cruise missiles are jet-propelled throughout. Agni-V is an ICBM and BrahMos a supersonic cruise missile.

Artisanal gold mining and coal combustion are the largest sources of mercury emissions, and WHO notes no known safe exposure level.

Hydrogen can be burnt in ICEs, blended with natural gas, and used in fuel cells.

Of these, only Hungary and Romania border Ukraine (others: Poland, Slovakia, Moldova, Belarus, Russia).

Water vapour in the lower atmosphere absorbs much of the infrared radiation. Equator–pole insolation differs about 2.5×, infrared is about half of insolation, and IR is not visible.

Rainforest soils are nutrient-poor because rapid decomposition and heavy leaching quickly remove nutrients (taken up by vegetation).

Land heats faster than oceans because water's specific heat is higher, producing a larger land–ocean contrast in summer (the official key treats II as the explanation).

P waves are fastest and arrive first. P waves are longitudinal (particles move along the propagation direction), while S waves are transverse (particles move at right angles).

Coastal plants such as Mundra use seawater, many plants lie in water-stressed districts, and many are privately owned.

Mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia bacteria are less able to transmit dengue, Zika and chikungunya.

Enhanced rock weathering, ocean alkalinity enhancement and underground injection of CO2 are all discussed CCS approaches.

Aerial metagenomics sequences environmental DNA collected from air samples to identify organisms in a habitat.

Microsatellites (short tandem repeats) are genetic markers used in population genetics and evolutionary/phylogenetic studies.

Medium enterprises (2020 criteria) have investment up to ₹50 crore and turnover up to ₹250 crore; the original 2006 Act said ₹5–10 crore. Not all MSME loans qualify as priority sector (only micro/small fully; medium with conditions).

CBDCs can enable cross-border payments bypassing the dollar/SWIFT and can be programmable (e.g., expiry or purpose-bound).

Beta measures a stock's volatility relative to the overall market.

The SHG-Bank Linkage Programme was launched by NABARD (1992). Members share joint liability, and RRBs and commercial banks lend to SHGs.

Both are true (health is a State subject), but state responsibility does not explain the curative focus.

India is the largest groundwater extractor (about 25%+). Most of it goes to irrigation, not drinking water and sanitation.

Art. 355 imposes the duty on the Union, and Art. 22(3) excludes preventive detainees from the right to counsel. POTA made confessions to senior police officers admissible.

Somalia faced severe drought-driven famine conditions in 2022–23 amid prolonged conflict.

Under the Biological Diversity Act, local BMCs are central to access and benefit sharing (Nagoya Protocol) and can levy collection fees (Sec 41(3)).

Only statement 4 is correct (Puducherry 16 vs Arunachal 8). Nominated members are excluded, the value of an MLA's vote varies inversely with seats (population/seats/1000), and MP (131) is lower than Kerala (152).

All were archaeologists/antiquarians who excavated and documented sites (e.g., Amaravati, Nagarjunakonda, Hampi).

Bhaja (Buddhist) and Sittanavasal (Jain) are correct. Besnagar is known for the Heliodorus (Garuda) pillar, a Vaishnava site.

National Handloom Day (since 2015) commemorates the launch of the Swadeshi Movement on 7 August 1905.

Both are true under the Flag Code 2002 (600×400 is one of nine standard sizes; ratio 3:2), but the ratio does not explain why that particular size is standard.

The Constitution was adopted on 26 November 1949. The Drafting Committee was set up on 29 August 1947.

Switzerland is a top gold exporter (refining hub). The second largest reserves belong to Germany (after the USA).

The TTC was launched in 2021 to coordinate trade and technology policy based on shared values, not to 'control' technological progress.

India's share of global merchandise exports is about 1.8%. Many firms have used the PLI scheme.

The SGP sets fiscal rules (deficit 3% of GDP, debt 60%); it does not concern infrastructure or technology sharing.

GCM (2018) was not adopted by all members (e.g., US opposed), is non-binding, and covers international, not internal, migration.

Home Guards are raised under State Home Guards Acts and Rules. They act as a police auxiliary, and Border Wing battalions exist in border states.

OSA Sec 6 covers unauthorised uniforms and the Arms (Amendment) Act 2019 penalises celebratory gunfire. Interfering with police/military officers is covered under OSA Sec 7, not the Evidence Act.

North Kivu/Ituri are in the DRC (conflict), Nagorno-Karabakh concerns Armenia-Azerbaijan, and Kherson/Zaporizhzhia are in Ukraine.

Israel has ties with Egypt, Jordan, UAE, Bahrain, Morocco etc. The 2002 Arab Peace Initiative was a Saudi proposal endorsed by the Arab League and not signed by Israel.

Khel Ratna and Dronacharya are correctly described. Arjuna is for consistent good performance over four years, and RKPP recognises organisations promoting sports.

The Chennai 2022 Olympiad was India's first and its mascot was Thambi. The trophies are swapped: Hamilton-Russell Cup is for the open section and Vera Menchik Cup for women.

Donbas is in Ukraine, Kachin in Myanmar and Tigray in Ethiopia.

All four saw successful military coups in 2020–21 (the 'coup belt').

Green hydrogen can replace grey hydrogen in ammonia/fertiliser and refineries and act as a reductant in steel making.

G20 began in 1999 as a finance ministers/central bank governors forum, and DPI was a key priority of India's 2023 presidency.